Ulcer suspected in death of jumbo at Singara forest

The jumbo, aged around three years, was found dead near Kallahalla forest in Nilgiris North division on Wednesday night.

An autopsy performed by Mudumalai Tiger Reserve Veterinarian E Vijayaragavan on Thursday revealed that the animal had ulcer in its advanced stage, which inturn caused internal bleeding.

“There may be other reasons too for its death. Its food could have even got contaminated triggering complications. Vital organs of the elephant were harvested and sent for further forensic analysis to establish the exact reason for its death,” said E Vijayaragavan.

Following the post mortem, the forest department left the carcass of the animals at the same spot as it may be eaten by wild animals. The death of the jumbo comes barely three months after another jumbo died of ailment in the same Singara Forest range. The elephant which got struck in a river was pulled out of a river with the aid of kumkis, but died without responding to treatment on September 6.